The Rare Earth Single Coil has been carefully re-voiced and fine-tuned to offer an even smoother treble response than their popular, category-defining predecessors. Equipped with cutting-edge neodymium magnets, the Rare Earth pickups offer a warmer, more naturally acoustic tone, along with exceptional accuracy and increased musicality. Offers brilliance and articulation for those who prefer the single-coil sound.

Soundhole pickups are just an inherently mediocre option. I got one of these in a pinch when I had to send my good guitar to the shop so I could use another for worship...Read complete review

Soundhole pickups are just an inherently mediocre option. I got one of these in a pinch when I had to send my good guitar to the shop so I could use another for worship the following Sunday. Sounds okay for strumming open chords in a mix with other instruments. Playing up the neck gave a tone like a semi-hollow jazz guitar (not at all my objective), and the tone was a little lacking playing solo acoustic worship. What I ended up doing (and my advice for using this) is: use two channels and pan them l/r slightly if you can. Run one channel with the pickup and apply some reverb and chorus then use a mic on the other channel to capture even a little of the ambient acoustic tone (even a little will help make it sound more natural). This, while a little more complicated, gave a passable tone with adequate presence and volume. Also, definitely go for the humbucker model to avoid noise and get the additional feature of the onboard volume control.

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Why make an acoustic pick that HUMs?

I can not imagine why anyone would give this pickup more than 2 stars. If you play live or in a studio this is the last pickup to buy it has no hum cancelling...Read complete review

I can not imagine why anyone would give this pickup more than 2 stars. If you play live or in a studio this is the last pickup to buy it has no hum cancelling at all... the reason its called a pickup is it picks up any and all interferance. I assume you play acoustic for the tone and give the annoying hum it is impossble to play live as the sound totally disrupts everything. All the nuances you want to achieve playing acoustic is robbed from you. In this day and age you would figure a company like fishman would design a singlecoil pickup which accents the highs without the pain of 60's cycle hum. I just dont understand why they sell this but if you want your acoustic guitar to sound like a strat than this is your pickup.

I can not imagine why anyone would give this pickup more than 2 stars. If you play live or in a studio this is the last pickup to buy it has no hum cancelling at all... the reason its called a pickup is it picks up any and all interferance. I assume you play acoustic for the tone and give the annoying hum it is impossble to play live as the sound totally disrupts everything. All the nuances you want to achieve playing acoustic is robbed from you. In this day and age you would figure a company like fishman would design a singlecoil pickup which accents the highs without the pain of 60's cycle hum. I just dont understand why they sell this but if you want your acoustic guitar to sound like a strat than this is your pickup.

Unbalanced sound, pushes the mids and highs with significant bass roll off. The E bass string was audibly diminished relative to the others. Quacks when pushed. It turns any guitar into a cheap sounding acoustic/electric. It also does not pick up any percussive sounds, so if that's important to you, get an LR Baggs M80, which I exchanged this unit for. Even if it's not, get an M80. It's WAY BETTER...

Soundhole pickups are just an inherently mediocre option. I got one of these in a pinch when I had to send my good guitar to the shop so I could use another for worship the following Sunday. Sounds okay for strumming open chords in a mix with other instruments. Playing up the neck gave a tone like a semi-hollow jazz guitar (not at all my objective), and the tone was a little lacking playing solo acoustic worship. What I ended up doing (and my advice for using this) is: use two channels and pan them l/r slightly if you can. Run one channel with the pickup and apply some reverb and chorus then use a mic on the other channel to capture even a little of the ambient acoustic tone (even a little will help make it sound more natural). This, while a little more complicated, gave a passable tone with adequate presence and volume. Also, definitely go for the humbucker model to avoid noise and get the additional feature of the onboard volume control.

The most natural sounding pickup period! I tried them all (lr baggs M1A, duncan tube /mic, fishman humbucker, and of all of them this one sound the most natural. I do can see how this might create a problem for a live performance due to the hum at certain spots. But for studio recording, this thing really shines.for live try m1a or fishman humbucker rare earth, for home and studio recording this is the best there is!

As warned by others, this pickup will definitely emit an annoying hum in particular situations. I bought it because of the sale price, but I find now that I probably will not be able to use it. However, I am not by any means putting down this pickup. I have played it through an amp in a situation where there was minimal hum, and it sounds great. It has a very "true" sound to it, accurately portraying the guitar's natural sound.Unfortunately, one of the places where I need to use this has their lights on dimmer switches, and that sets off the hum like crazy. I EQ'd a bit of it out, but it's still enough to make it sound crappy. Not to mention, EQ-ing the bulk of the noise out ends up taking away from the pickup's (and the guitar's) natural sound. Obviously, it's a fix that does not really work out 100%.Installation is definitely easy, but if you're a newbie and want it permanently installed (so that the jack is going through the end pin), get a pro to do it. I had a great guy install mine for only $20. The most work he did was take a drill to the hole to make it a bit larger, allowing the jack to slide through.I plan on purchasing the humbucking model, now that I know how good a product the Rare Earth pickups are. But as I've mentioned, and others as well, if you're going to be in a situation where you suspect it'll hum (computer monitors will set it off, too), it might be best to go for the humbucking model instead of the single coil.

Excellent pick-up. It makes my POS Applause sound like a prince. Yes, there were 60 Hz noise problems with my dimmer lights and when I got too close to my KORG multi-track, but I turned off the lights and stayed 4 feet away from the KORG. Problem solved!Outstanding acoustic sound, particularly when I added a touch of reverb. I guess the reverb helped with my fat fingers...I was in the dark!Great piece of work, Fishman!

Alright, I have tried everything from : The M1(lrbaggs);iMIX w/blend mic(lrbaggs);Seymour Duncan Woody;ect... I have reasearched for 6 months to find an semi-perminant(unless you have to deface/cut the side of the guitar it's not permanently installed) pickup for my TAYLOR 514. I am a musician/songwriter and this guitar was a product of 8 years labor and searching for the right wood combination and scale instrument. I was afraid I would never find anything affordable that wouldn't require modification to my 514. This active single coil not only delivers, but is the warmest, loudest, with the most clarity I have heard from a "soundhole mountable" pickup. The other perk is it doesn't feedback. I haven't ran the batteries down yet, but batt. life is a small qwerk when you think about how difficult it is to find something to reproduce the sound of this grade instrument accurately. The quality is good very well made, and installation ..well breeze doesn't quite say it. You get the point. I am very happy with this product. The cork of course was an added bonus. For those of you wondering Taylors are made with a pre-drilled 1/4 hole that has a special strap peg that screws into a bushin w/ a set nut in it. Remove the peg the bushing falls out into your hand and presto you have a pre drilled hole ready for installation. Back on subject, one last thing before I go. Check out fishman's web sight before you pass by there line of rare earth pickups. You'd be surprised at what they have that just might fit your budget.

As a song leader for a church, the sound was fantastic. It was clear and held the natural sound of my Martin DM. Unfortunately the battery is a watch battery and I had to change it once a month. I am going to buy a passive pickup and external preamp/box

I've been using this FISHMAN single coil in a variety of acoustic guitars, from a Martin to a Santa Cruz. It sound very natural in every one I've tried, plus you don't get the fretboard squeek that you do with a transducer pickup. I'd recommend it. I never had trouble with hum.